Indian Pietersen?

For those who followed this year's Ranji trophy final between Mumbai and Bengal, would have noticed a player with the shirt sleeves folded up the shoulder ( ala Warne),ambling along with a swagger and an air of unmistakable confidence about him .Apart from the Indian regulars Tendulkar,Ganguly,Zaheer,Agarkar,Zaffar and Powar who hogged the limelight( remember the NECC hoardings all around the stadium ?), there was this guy managing to bask in his own glory. From becoming the highest run-getter for Bengal in a single Ranji season (overtaking Arun Lal's 729 in 1993-94) to helping Bengal reach the final (he scored 151 in the second innings of the semifinal against Karnataka while chasing 307 on the final day) this 21 year old lad has come a long way.

Manoj Tiwari who has already earned the sobriquet of "Chota Dada", is very well on the path to emulate (and even overtake !) him. Armed with good attacking and defensive technique, and more importantly grit and determination to give the best, he could very well be the Indian Kevin Pietersen.

He is certainly one of the future prospects for India and indeed the find of the season. Let the dust settle down on the World Cup and Indian cricket team's heroics(?) and there will be a talk about building a team for next World Cup. This guy will sure be in the reckoning then. To be followed...


P.S. Meanwhile the Ponting juggernaut rolls on. He recently swept the Allan Border medal for best cricketer, the Test Player of the year and the ODI player of the year awards at the Cricket Australia functions (after being the ICC player of the year for 2006).